Device for dispensing powders, granulated substances and the like in measured quantities



Apnl 3, 1956 J. R. HOWDEN 2,740,555

DEVICE FOR DISPENSING POWDERS, GRANULATED SUBSTANCES AND THE LIKE IN MEASURED QUANTITIES Filed Oct. 3, 1951 Inventor Jos pl) Regina/d Ham/en A tlorney tates wad DEVICE FOR DESPENSING POWDERS, GRANU- LATED SUBSTANQES AND THE LIKE IN I'VIEASURED QUANTITIES This invention concerns new or improved devices for dispensing fluent solid or substantially solid materials, e. g. powdered, finely divided, comminuted, granulated, or like solid materials (hereinafter all referred to as powders") from containers in controlled and measured quantifies. Thus, to cite but a few of its many applications, the invention is suitable for dispensing from cartons, packets, boxes and other forms of container, soap powders, detergent powders, abrasive cleaning powders, gravy powders, and face powders, sugar, salt and the like.

Many powders are sold in cardboard or like cartons of standard sizes and of cuboidal shape, such cartons hearing' instructions that the powder is to be used in measured quantities, e. g. one tablespoonful, at a time. t is customary in this form of carton also to provide at the upper part of one of the narrower vertical sides a partially severed portion which can be detached from the carton so as to leave in the said side of the carton an aperture through which the contents of the latter can be discharged. Usually the said aperture is of truncated or fiat-bottomed V-shape in form and is centrally located with respect to the width of the side in which it is provided. Discharge of the powder from such a carton is elfected by rocking or tipping the carton in the vertical plane of one of its major sides, i. e. its front or rear side, with a sort of rotary movement so as first to invert or partially invert the carton to discharge powder, the discharge of the powder being cut oif, when sufiicient has been dispensed, by quickly returning the carton to its original upright position. To dispense a measured or approximately measured quantity of powder from a carton of this form in the manner described is sheer guess-work so that frequently either much toogreat or much too small a quantity of the contents of the carton is dispensed at each operation. Moreover, instead of neatly removing the said partially severed portion' of the carton, the latter is frequently roughly torn open so that still less control of the discharge of the powder from the carton is available.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a new or improved device which permits and facilitates the dispensing of powders, particularly powders of the types above exemplified, from containers in measured or controlled quantities, i. e. in quantities which are at least approximately predetermined, for example, about one teaspoonfnl, dessertspoonful or tablespoonful at a time.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device which is of simple and inexpensive character, and which contributes to the economical dispensing of powders.

According to this invention there is provided for dispensing measured quantities of powder from a container, a dispensing device comprising a hollow measuring receptacle or body having filling and discharge openings so disposed relatively to one another that (with the device fitted to or incorporated in the container) the receptacle takes and holds from the container a measured quantity of the powder when the container is moved or tipped in one direction and discharges that measured quantity when the container is tilted in another direction transverse: to the first-named direction. Thus the dispensing device may comprise a tubular hollow body closed at one end and having at least one discharge opening at its other end and also having in its longitudinal wall a filling opening, the hollow or tubular body below said filling opening-defining a measuring receptacle or well, the arrangement being such that, when the dispensing device is in use and the container to which it is attached is rocked or tipped to and fro in a plane transverse to the length of the dis.- pensing device, the measuring receptacle or well is charged with and retains a measured or controlled quantity of the powder whereafter, on tilting the carton or container (with the discharge opening-provided end of the said body foremost) in a plane transverse tothat lIliWhiCh the carton or container was first rocked or tipped, the said chargeof powder is discharged from the said body through thesaid discharge opening-provided end thereof, without simultaneously discharging further powder, or any appreciable further quantity of such powder, from the container.

Preferably the said filling and discharge openings of the dispensing device are spaced from one another along the line of the direction of discharge of the powder from the device and are also so arranged that the powder enters the measuring chamber of the device in a direction at right angles, or substantially at right angles, to that in which it eventually leaves such chamber.

The arrangement is such that when the container is returned to or towards its original position after the first tipping or inversion of the container in a substantially vertical plane to charge the device, the further supply of powder to the device will be cut off and the subsequent discharge tilting of the container will eifect only the discharge of the measured or controlled quantity of material retained in the device. Thus the filling opening or openings of the device is or are arranged. at, or mainly at, a part of the dispensing device which will be the upper part thereof when the device is in use so that the said measuring, chamber is provided by the well-like lower part of the device which serves to hold the quantity of material to be discharged. 7

Other features of the inventionv are set forth in the claims appended hereto.

Various embodiments of the invention are illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred. form of powder dispensing device according to the invention, this device being formed separately of, and adapted for in,- sertion into and detachment from, a, container; the figure actually shows the device in its position of use in a cuboidal cardboard carton of the kind in which detergent powders are sold;

Figure 2 is a vertical section of the device shown in Figure 1-, the section being taken through the longitudinal axis of the device;

' Figure 3 is a composite illustration indicating the method of manipulating, e. g. rocking or tipping and tilting, the carton to effect the isolation and discharge of a controlled or measured quantity of its contents when using the device of Figures 1 and 2, for example;

Figure 4 is a longitudinalvertical sectional elevation of the dispensing device shown in Figures 1 and, 2 but provided with certain modifications;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified embodi-- ment of detachable dispensing device within this invention;

Figures 6 and 7 show, in similar fashion to Figure 2, further modifications of the dispensing, device shown in that figure;

Figures 8 and 9 show in a similar way to Figure 2, two further modified embodiments of the invention.

The dispensing devices illustrated are in the form of separate units which are adapted to be inserted endwise into a closed container, e. g. a rectangular cuboidal cardboard carton for powder, e. g. a detergent powder or sugar. 7 The said insertion of the dispensing device into the container or carton, hereinafter, except in the claims, referred to as the carton, can be made through a perforation, or in some instances perforations, made in advance in a wall or walls of the carton, but it is preferred, in the interests of simplicity and speed, to use the dispensing device itself to make the entrance hole or holes in the carton where this can be done, for example, where the carton has readily perforable walls made of lightweight cardboard or the like.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 3, it will be seen that the dispensing device there shown comprises a hollow or tubular body of circular cross sectional shape. At its leading end portion 21 this body is tapered, bullet fashion, to a closed point 22, whilst at its opposite end 23 the body 20 is open, the opening at this end of the body constituting the discharge opening of the device.

Provided around the body 20 is an annular abutment collar or flange 25 located at a short distance from the open end 23 of the body so as to provide a section 24 of the body which is externally slightly tapered.

The overall length of the dispensing device is greater than the front to rear dimension or depth of the largest carton in which the dispenser is to be used. A filling opening in the form of a substantially rectangular long and relatively narrow slot 26 is formed along the body 20 between its ends, this slot being arranged on the opposite side of the collar 25 to the open end 23 of the body and the length of the slot being less, preferably only a little less, than the front to rear depth of the smallest carton in which the dispenser is to be used and the slot extending from closely adjacent the said collar towards the pointed end 22 of the device.

A radial rib 27 is conveniently provided externally on the body section 24 and is conveniently aligned with one edge of the slot 26, the position of this rib relatively to the exterior of the carton when the device is in use indicating the position of the slot 26 within the carton, e. g. whether it is upwardly or downwardly directed.

The internal volume of the body of the dispenser below the slot 26 should be somewhat greater than the volume of powder to be discharged at each dispensing operation.

In use, the dispensing device is plunged, pointed end first through the front wall 29 of the carton 28 at an upper corner thereof, the device being pressed inwardly until the collar 25 abuts against the said front wall and prevents further penetration of the device. As the device is thus plunged into the carton its pointed leading end 22 will initially puncture the front wall 29 of the carton, then the bullet shaped end portion 21 of the device will gradually enlarge the hole so formed as the device is pressed home into the carton, and finally the pointed end 22 of the device will pierce and pass partially through the rear wall 30 of the carton so as to project a short distance beyond this wall, the dispensing device thus being mainly located in, and supported across the depth from front to back of, the carton with its axis at right angles to the front and rear walls of the carton, the dispensing device being held frictionally in this position and so prevented from falling out of the carton.

When the dispensing device is applied to the carton the slot 26 should be uppermost if the pouring of measured or approximately predetermined quantities of the powder, e. g. soap powder, is desired and the position of the slot will be indicated externally of the carton by the rib 27.

The carton 28 will normally be held upright, as seen in dot and chain lines at the left-hand side of Figure 3 of the drawings, but by rocking or tipping the carton in the more-or-less normal manner in a plane at right angles to the axis of the dispensing device, i. e. in the plane of the open discharge end 23 of the device, first downwardly to the partially inverted position shown in full lines at the left of Figure 3, and then upwardly back to its original position (all as indicated by the double arrow in Figure 3), the dispensing device will be charged through its filling opening or slot 26 with an approximately measured quantity of the powder from the carton. Hence, by the first rocking or tipping action, whatever be the quantity of powder in the carton, this powder will collect in the lowered cornerof the carton and enter the inverted dispenser through the filling slot 26 therein. Then in returning the carton to its upright status, the dispenser will retain an approximately measured or predetermined quantity (such as indicated at 20', Figure 2) of the powder since this will have become deposited in the well or pocket or measuring chamber which is defined by the imperforate wall of the dispenser opposite or below the level of the slot 26, the excess powder being returned to the carton via the slot 26 as the carton is restored to its upright or normal position.

If the carton is now tilted forwardly, discharge end of the dispenser foremost as illustrated at the right-hand side of Figure 3, in a plane transverse (e. g. in a vertical plane containing the axis of the dispenser) to the said rocking or tipping plane (indicated by the left-hand part of Figure 3), the collected and approximately measured quantity of powder in the dispenser, and only this quantity, will be poured from the dispenser through the discharge opening 23 of the latter, the projecting section 24 of the dispenser serving as a pouring spout.

Hence, by virtue of the fact that the filling slot 26 and the discharge opening 23 of the dispenser are axially spaced and face in directions transverse (at right angles) to one another, the dispensing device 20 is first charged with a measured or controlled quantity of powder and then this quantity of powder is discharged merely by first inverting the carton in a plane transverse to the axis of the dispensing device, by then restoring the carton to its original position, and by finally tilting the carton in a second plane transverse, and conveniently substantially at right angles, to the first named plane.

The slot 26 is of such a length and so disposed in the wall of the body of the dispensing device as always to be wholly between the front and rear walls of any carton in which the device is inserted and which lies within the range of carton sizes for which the device is intended. Thus the slot should be slightly less in length than the depth from front to rear of the smallest carton in which the device is to be used. This avoids the necessity of making a separate size of dispensing device for each different carton size. The dispensing device illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, for example, can be used either in the larger or the smaller cartons of soap powder or detergent at present on the market.

By rotating the dispensing device about its axis through from the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 so that the slot 26 faces downwardly into the carton, continuous pouring of the contents of the latter can be achieved by rocking the carton downwardly in its own plane and tilting it forwardly without the intermediate step of restoring the carton to its original position.

If desired, the pointed end of the device may have, as shown in Figure 4, one or more barbs 22' (which may be annular) to prevent accidental withdrawal of the device from the carton. Also the hollow or tubular body 20 may have (also as shown in Figure 4), an internal barrier 29' at its discharge end and on the part of its wall opposite to that provided with the slot 26, the barrier serving to prevent accidental overflow of powder from the interior of the dispenser if, for example, the carton is stood upon an inclined surface. In this case the discharge opening is of smaller area than the free transverse cross-section of the hollow body and the filling opening and is disposed eccentrically to the latter.

Figures 5 to 9 of the drawings indicate, but not exhaustively, variants of the dispensing device illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, these variants being intended to be used in substantially like fashion to the latter.

Thus the dispensing device seen in Figure 5 is of a semi-torpedo or bullet shape similar to that of the construction of Figures 1 and 2, but has a short turned-up locating projection 36 at its open discharge end 23 which, in use, lies substantially flush with the front wall of the carton, the said projection replacing the collar or flange 25.

The two forms of the device depicted respectively in Figures 6 and 7 illustrate instances in which the leading end 37 of the dispensing device does not pass through, but abuts against, the rear wall of the carton. With these two embodiments the front wall 29 of the carton may be initially pierced by another tool before the dispensing device is inserted into the carton, or alternatively the devices may be used with cartons having partially severed discs or weakening lines in the front walls permitting the forcing of appropriate openings in the cartons by the dispensing devices themselves.

It will also be noted that in Figures 6 and 7 the devices are shown provided, towards their open discharge ends 23, with external annular shallow abutment beads 38 to engage behind the front wall of the carton and to aid in locating the inserted dispensing devices in position and to seal them in their cartons.

The device shown in Figure 6 has an annular series of teeth or spikes 39 at its leading end 38 (which in this case could be open or closed) intended to pierce the near carton wall 30, whilst in the device of Figure 7 a comparable anchorage is provided by an adhesive, e. g. a self-sealing adhesive, on the end face of the leading end 37 of the device and/or by a central pin or spike 39 (which may be barbed) adapted to pierce the rear wall of the carton.

In the arrangements shown in Figure 8 the dispenser is open at its tapered end for the discharge of its contents, as shown at 31, and closed at its larger end 32, whilst in the similar construction of Figure 9 the taper is much smaller at the leading and open discharge end 33 and is followed by external screw-threading 34 for receiving a securing nut 35. In both these cases the dispensing of the fluent material takes place through the end of the device forced through the carton, this end of the device being sharpened if desired to assist the device in penetrating the carton or in dislodging partially severed portions thereof.

A device constructed in any of the ways above described may be inserted into a carton at either upper corner of the latter, it preferably being inserted in the left-hand corner when the carton is to be manipulated by a right-handed person and in the right hand corner when the carton is to be used by a left-handed person.

Where appropriate, the dispensing device can incorporate combination of features indicated separately in the foregoing description. In addition it will be apparent that other refinements are possible, for example, knurling of the body at the front end part, as at 24 for instance, to facilitate the insertion of the device into the carton and rotational adjustment of the inserted device; or the provision of means, e. g. a shutter around the device, for adjusting the width or length of a filling opening such as the slot 26.

A dispensing device constructed in any of the ways above described can be made, for example, as a synthetic resin moulding, or of sheet metal or as a metal casting or moulding, has no moving parts and has nothing to go wrong, and is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce.

I claim:

1. The combination of a container of rectangular parallelepipedon form and containing fluent material with a device for dispensing the material in measured quantities from the container, such device comprising a bullet shaped receptacle constituting a measure and having a body of uniform internal cross-sectional area over the major part of its length, a filling opening in a side wall of said receptacle, an imperforate curved wall part opposite said filling opening and defining a well to retain fluent material entering said receptacle through said filling opening, a pointed end formed for penetration of a Wall of the container and a discharge opening at the end opposite to the pointed end, such receptacle having been inserted in the container so as to be positioned at an upper corner thereof with said filling opening uppermost and wholly within the container and with said discharge opening located externally of the container, whereby, by rocking the container in one plane, a predetermined quantity of fluent material may be charged into said receptacle and retained therein, and, by tilting the container subsequently in a transverse plane this measured quantity of fluent material may be discharged through the said discharge opening.

2. The combination of a container of rectangular parallelepipedon form and containing fluent material with a device for dispensing the material in measured quantities from the container, such device comprising a receptacle having an elongated tubular body which is closed from the exterior except for a filling opening in a side wall thereof and a discharge opening at one end, the other end of the tubular body being pointed to penetrate a wall. of the container, and an outwardly extending abutment spaced from the discharge opening, such receptacle being inserted point-first into the front wall of the container at an upper corner thereof and pressed thereinto until said pointed end penetrates the rear wall of the container and said abutment engages the front Wall of the container to position the receptacle with said filling opening uppermost and Wholly within the container whereby the container can be rocked in one plane to charge a predetermined quantity of fluent material into said receptacle and retain this quantity therein, whereafter tilting of the container in a transverse plane will serve to discharge this measured quantity or" fluent material through the said discharge opening, the portion of the tubular receptacle body between the said abutment and the said discharge opening forming a pouring spout located outside the container.

3. The combination of claim 2, further including means on the pouring spout aligned with the filling opening in the receptacle body and adapted to identify the rotary position of the filling opening in the container.

4. The combination of claim 2, further including means on said body positioned to oppose withdrawal of the receptacle from the container.

5. A device for dispensing fluent material in measured quantities from a container, comprising a receptacle having a hollow bullet-shaped body with a pointed end and with a single elongated filling slot extending substantially along the length of the cylindrical part of the body, said body being open at its larger and trailing end and having an abutment collar extending circumferentially therearound at a distance from this open end and an external indicator rib extending in the longitudinal direction of the body between said collar and open end, whereby the receptacle can be pushed point-first into a container so as to straddle opposed side Walls thereof'with said abutment collar determining the extent of penetration and the indicator rib identifying the rotary position of said filling opening, and the container can be rocked in one plane to charge a predetermined quantity of fluent material into said receptacle and retain this quantity therein, Whereafter tilting of the container in a transverse plane will serve to discharge this measured quantity of fluent material through said external discharge spout.

6. A device for dispensing fluent material in measured quantities from a container, such device comprising a hollow bullet shaped receptacle constituting a measure and formed for insertion into the container so as to straddle opposite walls thereof, said receptacle having a body portion of cylindrical form, an elongated filling opening in the wall of said body portion extending longitudinally for substantially the full length thereof, the part of the body portion opposite to said filling opening being imperforate so that fluent material entering the receptacle through said filling opening may be retained by the receptacle; a pointed end formed for penetration of a wall of the container, a coaxial tubular discharge spout at the end opposite to said pointed end, an outwardly extending abutment collar at the junction between said discharge spout and the body portion, said abutment being formed to determine the extent of insertion of the receptacle into the container by engagement With a wall thereof, and an external indicator rib on, said discharge spout and aligned with said filling opening to identify the position of such opening in the container, whereby the receptacle can be pushed point-first into a container so as to straddle opposed side Walls thereof with said abutment collar determining the extent of penetration and the indicatorrib identifying the rotary position of said filling opening, and the container can be rocked in one plane to charge a predetermined quantity of fluent material into said receptacle and retain this quantity therein, whereafter tilting of the container in a transverse plane will serve to discharge this measured quantity of fluent material through said external discharge spout.

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